Doctor who brings life into the world, is given gift of life

CLEVELAND - Cleveland Clinic Dr. Francine Cosner knows something about precious life. She’s delivered nearly 2,000 babies into this world, while experiencing her own wonderful family life experiences.
But she’ll never forget the day she changed her socks.
“I was working and I went to change my socks and noticed some swelling, and I said out loud, 'well, that’s not right,'” Dr. Cosner said.
She noticed her ankles were swollen and when she pressed, the indentation stayed. Dr. Cosner just had a physical, she was in great shape, she exercised, ate well and considered herself healthy. She couldn’t figure out what would cause this swelling, but she knew it wasn’t good. So Dr. Cosner contacted another doctor who ordered lab tests.
The results left her in shock.
“I had crazy elevation of liver enzymes,” Dr. Cosner said.
Liver disease in a healthy person? She didn’t fit the typical profile. Dr. Cosner did some digging and found the answer on a prescription bottle prescribed two weeks earlier.
“This was an antibiotic that I had taken two weeks before, one that I had taken all my life that I prescribed probably thousands of times. But this drug is known to potentially cause an autoimmune liver injury,” Dr. Cosner said.
Live disease is a rare side effect of the antibiotic nitrofurantoin. Even though she had only taken it for three days, a biopsy confirmed nearly 80% of her liver was destroyed. While Dr. Cosner hoped her liver would recover, her doctor put her on the transplant list.
“If it recovered, I was going to have a scarred liver that could potentially cause me problems down the line. If it failed completely, I was either going to die or need a transplant,” Dr. Cosner said
It wasn’t easy, but this doctor relinquished control and became a patient at Cleveland Clinic, home to one of the most respected liver programs in the nation. Unable to work, Dr. Cosner battled severe fatigue, insomnia and mental confusion, when the encephalopathy symptoms worsened, she was out of time.
“My hepatologist had been monitoring me and she had warned us that when it happens, it can be a very rapid descent and that's what happened,” Dr. Cosner said.
The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital to learn she was alive because someone donated the gift of life.
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“It's very difficult to express the gratitude the people in the recipient community have towards their donor. Because we never get to say thank you. Even if you can contact the family, you can never truly express what it means to have a gift that is so remarkable,” Dr. Cosner said.
“When someone is in this position to make the decision, it's the worst day of their life. They're going through such a tremendous trauma. How could you ask them to think of someone else? And through the kindness of somebody who looked beyond their own pain, to say, maybe I could help someone who's also suffering today, their worst day became my best day.”
Francine Cosner is no longer the same doctor. Having experienced the emotional aspects of a major health event, she understands her patients better. Her compassion comes from a raw and personal place that she believes will help her patients long after they walk out the door.